Former stalwarts slate Pakistan team selection

Karachi, Oct 21: Former Test stalwarts on Thursday expressed their total dissatisfaction over the selection of the 16-man Australiabound team that was announced by the selectors in Sharjah on Wednesday.

Former captain and manager Intikhab Alam said the team reflects the contradiction in the policy of the selectors while Hasib Ahsan said the selectors could have picked a more formidable side than they did.

Zaheer Abbas restricted himself to just questioning the performance of Mohammad Wasim who was preferred over Hasan Raza and Rashid Latif.

Intikhab, who has toured Australia both as a player and manager, went on the say that he had little hopes that the squad would return victorious.

"The batting is very fragile and the conditions in Australia result in injuries to several players. But with such a suspect batting lineup, I don't expect that the team would return winners.

"Only if batting clicks, then there is a possibility (of a series win) but our batsmen have never performed there," he observed.

Hasib believed that Aamir Sohail, Hasan Raza and Shahid Afridi should have been in the side which would have given more stability to the batting which now looks unreliable, weak and inconsistent.

"How can you compare Aamir Sohail with Ghulam Ali. Sohail's exclusion must have been purely on the recommendation of the captain, who along with few other players, don't enjoy the company of the left-hander," he said.

Shahid Afridi, Hasib continued, was a player who can win matches single-handedly while Hasan Raza was emerging as a player to watch. "But they have been sidelined for unexplained reasons.

"In addition to this, if the selectors were not interested in selecting these three players, why were they taken to Sharjah?" he questioned.

Hasib said there was no apparent criteria for selection. "If the selectors have picked Ijaz Ahmad and Mushtaq Ahmad on past performance, well, then Aamir Sohail and Waqar Younis also had a claim."

He added if the selectors argue that they were picking youngsters, then their argument is contradicted by the selection of Ghulam Ali.

"I think, the captain had the final say in the selection of the team and selectors did what they were told to do," he slammed.

Intikhab Alam said Aamir Sohail was getting on track after being sidelined for almost eight months. "He needed time and confidence to kick off. You just can't drop him because he failed in four innings."

Similarly, he said Waqar Younis has been dropped without playing him in any matches while Mohammad Akram has been picked on the performance of just one match. "Waqar had been playing regularly while Akram had been sitting out."

Hasib said when Waqar Younis was selected for the Sharjah tour, he must have been fit and in form. "Then how come he lost both without playing in Sharjah. The selectors need to given a lot of explanations to justify their selection."

Both Intikhab and Hasib were unanimous in saying that experienced players should have been in the team for such a demanding tour and the selectors should have put their foot down rather than playing in the hands of the captain.

Haroon Rasheed believed that Shahid Afridi's inclusion would have given more options to Wasim Akram. He said Afridi was a wrist spinner and also an opener.

"He could have replaced Mushtaq if the leggie was erratic while he could have made up for the two inexperienced openers," he said.

Iqbal Qasim, a former Test spinner, believed that Waqar Younis had rich experience of Australian conditions where he had always performed with distinction. He said Waqar's inclusion would have given Pakistan a more psychological advantage over Australians who now know that Pakistan will only have Wasim Akram as a bowler who can adjust to the conditions.